Guest Blogger // Casey Thornburgh

Last updated on: November 5, 2007 at 1:28 pm by Tim Suttle

Guest Blogger // Casey Thornburgh 2007-11-05T13:28:00-07:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is a great post from my friend Casey who is in Seminary in Chicago. Thanks Casey for teaching me more about Madeleine L’Engle (pictured here), and for your artistry!
.
.
.
Co-Creatorship & the Influence of Madeleine L’Engle
by Casey Thornburgh
.
.
Something in me could not let the passing of Madeleine L’Engle on September 6th go by without some reflection. So here I go, doing my best to muster a few words about an author who left more than a few fingerprints in the process of molding Casey Elizabeth Thornburgh.

L’Engle is perhaps best known for her 1962 novel, A Wrinkle in Time. In it I, and countless other young adults, was introduced to tesseracts (remember, folding fabric of space and time?) and the transcendent universal guides known as Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which who lead the young Meg, Charles and Calvin through a universal battle against darkness. In the end, only love can overcome the dark force and restore harmony in all things.

Most of L’Engle’s works contain this fascination with time and with the battle of Good and Evil and the healing power of Beauty and Truth. Her life and literature was obedient to the provoking force of the Spirit of God. This spiritual power that, L’Engle believed, had provoked humans to grapple and wrestle with the elements of God’s creation through creative acts since the beginning of man. Such was the subject of perhaps her most vulnerable work, Walking on Water.

Walking on Water found its way into my lap not once, or twice but three times in the span of a year. It appeared to be God’s not so subtle way of saying, “Seriously Casey, would you read this book?” Taking the hint, I dove into what seemed to be excerpts from L’Engle’s personal journals. She so honestly shared her thoughts on being a Christian and an “Artist” by profession, but also the importance of being a Christian and creator/artist in order to be fully human (even those of us who think we can do no such thing).

We are afraid of that which we cannot control; so we continue to draw in the boundaries around us, to limit ourselves to what we can know and understand. Thus we lose our human calling because we do not dare to be creators, co-creators with God.
-L’Engle, Walking on Water

Made in the image of God, the Creator, are we not more ourselves when we participate with the Holy Spirit in creation? All of us believers and non-believers, all of us being created in God’s image are wired to create in response to creation. We are co-creators. When did we lose this truth? We understood it when we were young, with our crayon inspired masterpieces. Then we are told there are lines to stay inside of. Then we are told that it doesn’t resemble enough the real thing. The spark and intuition of being a co-creator leaves us and the joy of the creative process escapes from memory (this even applies to those of us who have seemingly mastered our artistic craft).

Ridicule is a terrible witherer of the flower of imagination. It binds us where we should be free.
-L’Engle, Walking on Water

But this is how revelation occurs. This is how we really see the world in all its intricate beauty. We have to let go of earthly expectations like we once were so innately able to do. We have to be like children to enter the Kingdom of God and the co-creatorship with God. We have to seek the openness of a child and let go of expectations and boundaries and grades and presentations and just do the thing, make ourselves sensitive to the Holy Spirit and respond, react, team up with that wind of inspiration. It may be writing for one person, or finger painting for another, or singing or dancing. The later was a favorite means of letting go for G.K. Chesterton, and was the inspiration behind this frequently used quote:

If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.
– Chesterton, What’s Wrong With the World

But if the prospect of buying a watercolor set and going to town with it is still too daunting, there is still the art of listening and seeing. Perhaps what most inspired me as a lover and follower of all art, including art in popular culture whose works do not come with a “Christian” sticker on the cover, was L’Engle’s outright defense of all art being truth. I can find truth in the haunted alien sounds of Johnny Greenwood’s guitar on a Radiohead album. I can find truth in the ever so flawed but ever so endearing characters of a Wes Anderson film. “All truth is God’s truth.” All Beauty is God’s Beauty. An artist, no matter his or hers stance on who Jesus Christ is, uses the elements of God’s creation in order to make another pattern, tell another story, hum another tune.

Art exists beyond the walls of our churches and bindings of our categorically “Christian” literature or music. God speaks and inspires all creation to try and respond to and express the joy, sorrow, tragedy, comedy, color, light, and shadow that is life on earth. We all get to experience, share and delight in this. Madeleine L’Engle embodied beautifully this co-creatorship with God and ability to see the Creator’s hand in all things.

-Casey Thornburgh-

Further Readings:

The Heart of the Artist, Rory Noland
Only the Lover Sings, Josef Pieper
Walking on Water, Madeleine L’Engle
On Writing, Annie Dillard

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 1, 2007

Next Post

November 13, 2007 What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back at Sodom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

She lost her voice She disappeared She turned into a pillar of salt She was blinded